Plate Cooler for Fluids

ABSTRACT

A plate cooler for fluids, in particular hydraulic oil, having a parallelepiped packet of spaced-apart plate elements ( 1 ), which include vertical fluid channels ( 2 ) and air channels ( 3 ) disposed between the fluid channels and which at their ends communicate with a distributor box ( 4 ) disposed at their upper boundary and with a collection box ( 4′ ) disposed at their lower boundary, wherein the distributor box ( 4 ) can be made to communicate with at least one feed line leading away, and the collection box ( 4′ ) can be made to communicate with at least one discharge line leading away, and both boxes ( 4, 4′ ) are each embodied as a hollow extruded profile section of aluminum having a horizontal fluid channel ( 5 ) and have guide grooves ( 6 ), open toward the outside and T-shaped in cross section, for attaching connecting elements, and wherein the distributor box ( 4 ) and the collection box ( 4′ ) are closed off on both ends and have at least one upward- and downward-pointing horizontal opening ( 7 ) each, at which a respective connecting element, in the form of a closing plate ( 16 ) or an adapter piece ( 8; 19 ), is attachable to a horizontal opening ( 9 ) aligned with the horizontal opening ( 7 ) of the box ( 4, 4′ ) and to a connecting opening ( 11 ) for the feed line and discharge line that lead away and is fastenable to the guide grooves ( 6 ) of the box ( 4, 4′ ).

The invention relates to a plate cooler for fluids, in particular hydraulic oil, having a parallelepiped packet of spaced-apart plate elements, which include vertical fluid channels and air channels disposed between the fluid channels and which at their ends communicate with a distributor box disposed at their upper boundary and with a collection box disposed at their lower boundary, in which the distributor box can be made to communicate with at least one feed line leading away, and the collection box can be made to communicate with at least one discharge line leading away.

In such coolers, connection systems, such as bypass lines, connection lines, or the like, are fastened to the cooler with the aid of variously embodied mounting elements, which increases the production cost for the cooler and makes mounting the cooler more difficult. A bypass line, equipped with a temperature-dependent valve, between the distributor box and the collection box is expedient, for instance when the flow is in the cold state, so that the requisite fluid temperature for operation can be reached faster.

In the coolers mentioned at the outset, it is known to embody the plate element as platelike extruded profile sections that have a hollow cross section and are of aluminum. The extruded profile sections are soldered on their ends into openings in the distributor box and the collection box, which, while it is an economical production process, does necessitate complicated soldering in an inert gas (CAB).

In a further unpublished proposal, both the distributor box and the collection box are embodied as hollow extruded profile sections with a horizontal fluid channel, and the extruded profile sections have lateral guide grooves and on the side toward the plate elements they have receiving slots for the plate elements, which are likewise embodied as extruded profile sections. This makes production simpler. The lateral guide grooves are embodied as grooves that are open toward the outside and have a T-shaped cross section and that extend over the entire length of the distributor box and collection box and serve to fasten connection systems, such as feed and discharge lines, which are the be mounted and which attach to necessary openings, pointing toward the side, in the horizontal fluid channel. Disposing the openings in this way necessitates a laterally protruding disposition of the connection systems, which needs lateral space that is often not available. Moreover, not all the required connection devices, such as those for bypass lines or for feet for fastening the cooler, can be connected to the cooler in this way, and for that purpose, other kinds of mounting and fastening means are necessary.

The object of the invention is to further simplify the production of the cooler, based on the cooler of the unpublished proposal, to design it in an even more space-saving manner, and to furnish uniform mounting and fastening means for various connecting elements on the plate cooler.

In the plate cooler for fluids, in particular hydraulic oil, embodied in accordance with the unpublished proposal and having a parallelepiped packet of spaced-apart plate elements, which include vertical fluid channels and air channels disposed between the fluid channels and which at their ends communicate with a distributor box disposed at their upper boundary and with a collection box disposed at their lower boundary, in which the distributor box can be made to communicate with at least one feed line leading away and the collection box can be made to communicate with at least one discharge line leading away, and both boxes are each embodied as a hollow extruded profile section of aluminum having a horizontal fluid channel and have guide grooves, open toward the outside and T-shaped in cross section, for attaching connecting elements, this object is attained in that the distributor box and the collection box are closed off on both ends and have at least one upward- and downward-pointing horizontal opening each, at which a respective connecting element, in the form of a closing plate or an adapter piece, is attachable to a horizontal opening aligned with the horizontal opening of the box and to a preferably vertically disposed connecting opening for the feed line and discharge line that lead away and is fastenable to the guide grooves of the box.

The guide grooves expediently extend over the entire length of the respective box. Moreover, the guide grooves on the upper and lower end, respectively, of the boxes are preferably disposed on the edges thereof, and the adapter piece or the closing plate is fastenable by means of screws, which from above and below, respectively, engage nuts which are disposed in the guide grooves. The adapter piece and the closing plate have upright bores for the fastening screws.

Advantageously, various adapter pieces with various connecting openings pointing in the desired direction can be used selectively. This makes connections of lines leading in various directions easily possible.

The plate elements are advantageously embodied as extruded profile sections of aluminum.

The distributor box and the collection box are expediently embodied mirror-symmetrically and are laterally aligned on both ends with the packet of plate elements.

The adapter pieces are advantageously likewise embodied as extruded profile sections of aluminum and have a vertical fluid channel, which adjoins the horizontal opening of the respective box, and also have a horizontal fluid channel, adjoining the vertical fluid channel, that adjoins the preferably vertical connecting opening for a line that leads away.

The adapter pieces can have grooves, open toward the outside and T-shaped in cross section, for attaching further connecting elements for the lines or pipes that lead away.

Further connecting elements in the form of feet serving to fasten the cooler can be fastenable to the guide grooves of the collection box.

The distributor box and the collection box, to increase the heat transfer at their surface, can be embodied as ribbed bodies and can have receiving slots for the upper and lower edges, respectively, of the plate elements, which simplify the fluid-tight connection between the boxes and the plate elements, for instance by means of a low-temperature adhesive process low-temperature adhesive process (<300°).

The subject of the invention is furthermore a distributor box or collection box for a plate cooler for fluids, in particular hydraulic oil, in which each box is fastenable on its ends on a parallelepiped packet of spaced-apart plate elements of the cooler, which include vertical fluid channels and air channels disposed between the fluid channels, and each box is embodied as a hollow extruded profile section of aluminum having a horizontal fluid channel, which can be made to communicate with at least one line leading away, and each box is closed off on both ends and has guide grooves, open toward the outside and of T-shaped cross section, for attaching cooler connecting elements, and each box has at least one horizontal opening, against which a connecting element in the form of a closing plate or an adapter piece can be placed.

Each adapter piece can be provided with a horizontal opening, which is placeable against the horizontal opening of the box, and with a connecting opening for the line leading away and is fastenable to the guide grooves of the box.

The invention will be described in further detail below in terms of exemplary embodiments, shown in the drawings, of a plate cooler of the invention; in the drawings,

FIG. 1 shows a first example of a plate cooler without connecting elements in a front view;

FIG. 2 shows the plate cooler of FIG. 1 in a plan view;

FIG. 3A shows the plate cooler of FIG. 1 in a side view; FIG. 3B shows a section along the line in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A shows a detail B of FIG. 3A; FIG. 4B shows a detail E of FIG. 3B;

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of a plate cooler of the invention, which is equipped with various connecting elements, in a front view;

FIG. 6 shows a section along the line VI-VI in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 shows the plate cooler of FIGS. 1-4, equipped with connecting elements similarly to FIG. 5, in a front view;

FIG. 8 shows the plate cooler of FIGS. 1-4, equipped with connecting elements some of which are of a different type, in an exploded perspective view;

FIG. 9 shows the plate cooler of FIGS. 1-4, equipped with connecting elements in the form of feet, in a front view;

FIG. 10 shows the plate cooler of FIG. 9 in a side view;

FIG. 11 shows the plate cooler of FIGS. 1-4, equipped with connecting elements similarly to FIG. 7, in a front view;

FIG. 12 shows a fragmentary section along the line XII-XII in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 shows a detail G of FIG. 12;

FIGS. 14 and 14A show a connecting element in the form of a closing plate, viewed from the side of the connection, in plan view and in perspective, respectively; and

FIGS. 15, 15A show the connecting element of FIG. 14, viewed from the opposite side, in plan view and in perspective, respectively.

The plate cooler has a parallelepiped packet of spaced-apart plate elements 1, which enclose vertical fluid channels 2 and air channels 3 disposed between the fluid channels. The individual plate elements 1 are embodied as aluminum extruded profile sections. The packet of plate elements 1 communicates on its ends with a distributor box 4, disposed at its upper boundary, and with a collection box 4′, disposed at its lower boundary. The distributor box 4 and the collection box 4′ are also embodied, mirror-symmetrically, as hollow extruded profile sections of aluminum, with a horizontal fluid channel 5. On their edges, the boxes 4, 4′ have guide grooves 6 of T-shaped cross section, which are open outward and upward and outward and downward, respectively, and which extend over the entire length of the boxes 4, 4′. The boxes 4, 4′ are closed off laterally on both ends in alignment with the packet of plate elements 1 and they each have a horizontal opening 7 on both ends, for the connection of a fluid line leading away that which is not shown in the drawings.

In FIGS. 1-4, the connecting elements for these and other purposes, which can be fastened to the T-shaped guide groove 6, are not shown.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of a plate cooler of the invention, which is equipped with a first set of such connecting elements. The connecting element shown at top left in FIG. 5 is an adapter piece 8, which has an opening 9 (FIG. 8) aligned with the horizontal opening 7 of the distributor box 4, an adjoining vertical fluid channel 10 (FIG. 8), and a horizontal fluid channel 11 communicating with the vertical fluid channel. The adapter piece 8 moreover has grooves 12, open toward the outside and of T-shaped cross section, for attaching further connecting elements for lines or pipes, which are not shown in the drawings. The adapter piece 8 is fastened to the distributor box 4 by means of screws 14, which engage nuts 13 and extend through upright bores 15 in the adapter piece 8. The nuts 13 are retained in the guide grooves 6 of the distributor box 4.

The connecting element shown at bottom left in FIG. 5 and the connecting elements shown at top center and top right in FIG. 5 are closing plates 16, as shown in further detail in FIGS. 14, 14A, 15, and 15A. The individual closing plates 16 sealingly close off those horizontal openings 7 in the boxes 4, 4′ that are not needed for attaching lines that lead away. Like the adapter pieces 8, they are fastened to the boxes 4, 4′ by means of screws 14 that engage nuts 13, and the screws 14 extend through bores 17 in the closing plates 16. On their side adjoining the horizontal opening 7 of the box 4, 4′, the closing plates 16 have an annular groove 18 in which a sealing ring, not shown in the drawing, can be placed.

The connecting element shown at bottom right in FIG. 5 is an adapter piece 19 for a direct hose or pipe connection; it has bores, similarly to the adapter piece 8, but it does not have any lateral grooves 12. The adapter piece 19 is fastened to the collection box 4′ analogously to the other adapter pieces 8.

The connecting elements that can be seen in FIG. 7 are adapter pieces 8 and 19 and closing plate 16, of the kind described in conjunction with FIG. 5, but in this instance, no central closing plate 16 is provided.

In FIG. 8, longer adapter pieces 8′ can be seen on the left side of the cooler; they are embodied analogously to the adapter pieces 8 shown on the right.

The plate cooler shown in FIGS. 9, 10 is shown only with connecting elements in the form of feet 20 that serve to fasten the cooler. The feet 20 are fastened analogously to the aforementioned adapter pieces 8, 19 and to the closing plates 16.

In FIGS. 11-13, in particular the closing plate 16 located at top right in FIG. 11 can be seen in further detail.

It is understood that the exemplary embodiments of the invention can be modified in various ways within the scope of the inventive concept, especially with regard to the cross-sectional embodiment of the guide grooves and to their precise location. 

1. A plate cooler for fluids, in particular hydraulic oil, having a parallelepiped packet of spaced-apart plate elements, which include vertical fluid channels and air channels disposed between the fluid channels and which at their ends communicate with a distributor box disposed at their upper boundary and with a collection box disposed at their lower boundary, wherein the distributor box can be made to communicate with at least one feed line leading away, and the collection box can be made to communicate with at least one discharge line leading away, and both boxes are each embodied as a hollow extruded profile section of aluminum having a horizontal fluid channel and have guide grooves, open toward the outside and T-shaped in cross section, for attaching connecting elements, and wherein the distributor box and the collection box are closed off on both ends and have at least one upward- and downward-pointing horizontal opening each, at which a respective connecting element, in the form of a closing plate or an adapter piece, is attachable to a horizontal opening aligned with the horizontal opening of the box and to a connecting opening for the feed line and discharge line that lead away and is fastenable to the guide grooves of the box.
 2. The plate cooler as defined by claim 1, characterized in that wherein the connecting opening of the adapter piece is disposed vertically.
 3. The plate cooler as defined by claim 1, wherein the guide grooves extend over the entire length of the respective box.
 4. The plate cooler as defined by claim 1, wherein the guide grooves on the upper and lower end, respectively, of the boxes are disposed on the edges thereof, and the adapter piece or the closing plate is fastenable by means of screws, which from above and below, respectively, engage nuts which are disposed in the guide grooves.
 5. The plate cooler as defined by claim 4, wherein the adapter piece and the closing plate have upright bores for the fastening screws.
 6. The plate cooler as defined by claim 1, wherein various adapter pieces with various connecting openings pointing in the desired direction are selectively usable.
 7. The plate cooler as defined by claim 1, wherein the plate elements are embodied as extruded profile sections of aluminum.
 8. The plate cooler as defined by claim 1, wherein the distributor box and the collection box are embodied mirror-symmetrically and are laterally aligned on both ends with the packet of plate elements.
 9. The plate cooler as defined by claim 1, wherein the adapter pieces are embodied as extruded profile sections of aluminum and have a vertical fluid channel, which adjoins the horizontal opening of the respective box, and also have a horizontal fluid channel, adjoining the vertical fluid channel, that adjoins the preferably vertical connecting opening for a line that leads away.
 10. The plate cooler as defined by claim 1, wherein the adapter pieces have grooves, open toward the outside and T-shaped in cross section, for attaching further connecting elements for the lines or pipes that lead away.
 11. The plate cooler as defined by claim 1, wherein further connecting elements in the form of feet serving to fasten the cooler are fastenable to the guide grooves of the collection box.
 12. A distributor box or collection box for a plate cooler for fluids, in particular hydraulic oil, wherein each box is fastenable on its ends on a parallelepiped packet of spaced-apart plate elements of the cooler, which include vertical fluid channels and air channels disposed between the fluid channels, wherein each box is embodied as a hollow extruded profile section of aluminum having a horizontal fluid channel, which is adapted to communicate with at least one line leading away, wherein each box is closed off on both ends and has guide grooves, open toward the outside and of T-shaped cross section, for attaching cooler connecting elements, and wherein each box has at least one horizontal opening, against which a connecting element in the form of a closing plate or an adapter piece can be placed.
 13. The distributor box or collection box as defined by claim 12, wherein each adapter piece is provided with a horizontal opening, which is placeable against the horizontal opening of the box, and with a connecting opening for the line leading away, and is fastenable to the guide grooves of the box. 